Sunday, April 23, 2017

On Friday, PA Education Secretary Pedro A. Rivera visited Columbia Borough School District on Governor Wolf's "Schools That Teach" tour, sharing with educators and administrators information about several initiatives the Wolf Administration and PDE are currently advancing.

Rivera has traveled the state talking to educators, administrators, students, and families about how the Department can best serve communities across Pennsylvania. Improving access to quality and innovative programs through enhanced funding is a hallmark of the Schools That Teach initiative.

"As budget talks are ongoing in the halls of the Capitol building and staff at the Department of Education is hard at work developing plans that will greatly impact public education, it is important to gain insight and feedback from constituents in all corners of the commonwealth," Rivera said. "This statewide tour enables me to discuss ideas and strategies with experts in the field who have valuable input and unique perspectives to share."

This year, Governor Wolf has proposed an additional $100 million for basic education, $75 million for high quality early childhood education, and $25 million in special education, adding to the historic $640 million in education funding the governor has already secured since taking office.

During the visit, Rivera also discussed recommendations the Department of Education (PDE) made to introduce the Future Ready PA Index, which would replace the School Performance Profile (SPP) as the outward facing state school evaluation measure. Under the governor's guidance, PDE solicited input from a variety of stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, parents, students, policy makers, advocates, industry and higher education leaders, to develop a more holistic tool to measure school success.

To date, the Schools That Teach tour has made stops at more than three dozen schools across Pennsylvania.

For more information about Pennsylvania's education policies and programs, or to read Rivera's budget testimony, visit the Department of Education's website at www.education.pa.gov or follow PDE on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.